ITG Next is pleased to announce that it has joined forces with the U.S. Army’s Jacksonville Recruiting Company to identify and recognize one Northeast Florida high school sports program each month from August through December 2026.
This collaboration between ITG Next and the Army seeks to recognize a Northeast Florida team that has demonstrated the same core values that the Army looks for in its recruits, including fortitude, teamwork, and toughness.
ITG Next will work with the Jacksonville Army Recruiting Company to identify and review the performances of teams in the greater Jacksonville area that meet criteria established for the award.
ITG Next’s September 2026 Northeast Florida High School Team of the Month, presented by the U.S. Army, is Duval Charter School at Baymeadows.
The Panthers were selected because of their “never quit” attitude. For Duval Charter, it would have been easy to do after starting the season with three losses in its first four games. That was especially true after a 2025 season in which Duval Charter lost its first seven games and finished 3-8.
Northeast Florida veteran football coach Jim Stomps was hired in the offseason as head football coach and athletic director, and he was determined to change the mindset of the players and the program. The results speak for themselves so far.
Stomps led Duval Charter to three wins in its final five contests to close out the regular season with a 4-5 record as the Panthers await their playoff opponent.
The path to get to this point took a lot of hard work, and that’s what makes Stomps so proud about being selected as the Team of the Month.
“It’s such an honor because I know what the core values of the Army stand for, and for us to be selected based on those values is quite an honor and means the world to me and this team,” Stomps said. “We talk about our team as three pillars, which are character, strength, and honor, and that’s what we want to play by, act in class by, and act in the community on those three pillars, and we feel like if we do that, we’ll be successful both on and off the field. So to be recognized as the Team of the Month by the Army and ITG Next is truly an honor. It shows the hard work we are putting in and the pride we are trying to instill in our young student-athletes so once they finish playing or finish high school, they can go out and be lighthouses in our community, which we sorely need in today’s world.”
Capt. Stephens represented the Army, along with Mark Dykes from ITG Next. Stephens presented Stomps and Duval Charter School at Baymeadows with the Team of the Month award for September 2026.
The players were given free T-shirts, compliments of ITG Next.
While the Panthers have a break in their schedule as they await their first-round playoff opponent to be determined, Stomps decided to treat the team’s leaders to a senior dinner and bring in one of the city’s most recognizable sports figures to speak to the team.
Marcus Pollard, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ director of player engagement and youth football and a former NFL tight end, spoke to the Panthers.
“We brought in Marcus Pollard from the Jacksonville Jaguars to talk to our guys about legacy, about finishing, about standards, and not just in football and academics, but in life and applying those things that make you successful,” Stomps said. “It’s all about coming full circle and making the most out of life.”
